I make terrible jokes every time I go into a hospital. I think it's a defence mechanism. Sanjeev Bhaskar More Quotes by Sanjeev Bhaskar More Quotes From Sanjeev Bhaskar The worst moment in my life was when I was seven years old and I discovered that there was a thing such as racism. You don't know you're different until someone lets you know. Sanjeev Bhaskar worst-momentsracismyears Both my parents were migrant workers who came to the U.K. in the Fifties to better themselves. The culture I grew up in was to work hard, save hard and to look after your family. Sanjeev Bhaskar migrantshard-workparent I went to a psychotherapist for a year and a bit, and it was fantastic. I went in with a very clear question: I couldn't work out why I behaved in a certain way in certain situations, and I got that answered. Sanjeev Bhaskar work-outwayyears I might do a fitness video. Actually, more of a fatness video. Sanjeev Bhaskar fatnessvideomight Theatre has always been better disposed to colourblind casting than telly or film. Given that most television is contemporary, and it reaches 56 million people, I am disappointed there still isn't more representation. Sanjeev Bhaskar theatrepeopletelevision It is better to give blood but receive cash than the other way around. Sanjeev Bhaskar cashgivingblood I am officially a doctor, and believe it or not, I can save lives and tune certain instruments and can beat peasants with a stick. Sanjeev Bhaskar doctorstunesbelieve Good drama, challenging drama - and comedy for that matter - has a place in the daytime schedule. Sanjeev Bhaskar scheduleschallengesdrama I have issues with inheritance tax, particularly coming from a migrant family. My dad has worked incredibly hard all his life, so it seems odd to me that someone who has gone through that experience and has managed to save then gets taxed for dying. Sanjeev Bhaskar issuesdaddying I think family, friends and a sense of community give you greater happiness than money. But, of course, one has to have a minimum on which to live. The joy I get from sitting around and having a laugh is immeasurable - much greater than anything that I have ever bought. Sanjeev Bhaskar givinglaughingthinking I love team sports - they give me something to focus on rather than the fact that I can't breathe or my muscles are aching. Sanjeev Bhaskar teamsportsgiving I'm sure I went through a stage when I resented being Indian because in every other manner, in terms of cultural reference points and vocabulary and all the rest of it, I was way ahead of everybody else - so the one thing that set me back was being Indian. And I couldn't do anything about it. Sanjeev Bhaskar stagevocabularyway I've always felt I had to prove myself, and now it has become second nature. When I first went to university, I took lodgings with a woman who said, 'What are the chances of you staining my pans?' I said, 'I don't think I understand the question...' and she said, 'When you cook your curries.' Sanjeev Bhaskar chancefirststhinking If I go anywhere where there are people who vaguely look like me, there is always that feeling of, 'Actually I do look quite similar to everyone else.' At moments like that, I become very, very British. My accent gets more clipped, and I stride around as if I've got an empire. Sanjeev Bhaskar feelingspeoplelooks It always interested me that 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars,' when shown around the world, were referred to as British comedy. It was only here that they were referred to as Asian comedy, even though I always felt it was very British in its humour and structure. Sanjeev Bhaskar asiancomedyworld My mother had been an English teacher in India before she came to the U.K., and she taught me to read early on - not only in English, but in Hindi, too. My teachers didn't like the fact that I was reading more quickly than they were teaching, and as a consequence, I would sometimes get bored in class. Sanjeev Bhaskar readingmotherteacher On a radio drama I'd like to feel that I had just as much chance of playing Mr Darcy as anyone else because I can sound like him, yet many radio producers find it very difficult to extend their imaginations to employing anyone who's non white. Sanjeev Bhaskar imaginationwhitedrama I started working myself from about 14, really, so I wasn't a burden on my family. I did a paper round and a milk round. When I was 15 or 16, I worked in a supermarket on Saturdays stacking shelves, and then every summer I temped, right through university until my working days started. Sanjeev Bhaskar milkpapersummer I sense a kind of fear of writing black or Asian characters from non-ethnic writers, who perhaps feel that they don't know the culture and therefore can't write about it. By and large, if there's an Asian character, I might get a call. But if the character is called 'Philip,' the chances are I won't. Sanjeev Bhaskar blackwritingcharacter Good diet and exercise are key, but abject fear has its own rewards. And arriving on the first day for rehearsals for Spamalot and seeing all these much younger, much fitter people, who I was going to be on stage with, became a catalyst for cutting out the more unhealthy aspects of my life. Sanjeev Bhaskar cuttingkeysexercise
